Following their performances at Reading and Leeds, Gogol Bordello today announce a run of UK dates this December, the band will play:
Gogol Bordello – December 2014
Monday 08 O2 Academy Newcastle
Tuesday 09 O2 Academy Liverpool
Thursday 11 O2 Academy Birmingham
Saturday 13 London Roundhouse
Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday 29th August priced £19.50 regionally and £24.50 in London (subject to per-ticket charge plus order processing fee).
Gogol Bordello “Our sound comes from being a group of polyamorous musicians. The style comes from musicians born and raised in various elements, like (bass player) Thomas Gobena’s Ethiopian meters and (Russian violinist) Sergey Ryabtsev and (folkloric Russian accordion player) Yuri Lemeshev’s palette of colors. Everyone does their own thing to keep the train moving” says frontman Eugene Hutz.
For their sixth full length album Pura Vida Conspiracy, released in 2013, Andrew Scheps, who was the recording engineer on 2010’s Trans-Continental Hustle, stepped into the producer’s chair and helped them capture the feel of their vibrant live performances. “Andrew is a saint,” Hutz says. “From the first time we met, I felt like he was part of our family. He was keenly aware of our musical evolution and encouraged us to encapsulate the passion and experimental energy we’ve accumulated in the last few years of intense world travel.”
The band’s long time goal of creating a global style of music is fully realized with the heartfelt tunes on Pura Vida Conspiracy. “What makes Pura Vida Conspiracy so strong is that, unlike other records we’ve done that are also musically polyamorous, this one combines our adventurous spirit with a stronger rock anchor,” Hutz says. “People ask how I had the confidence to attempt this task and I tell them it was not confidence. I had a feeling I needed to do it, but no idea if it would work out. When we scream on stage it’s to acknowledge all cultures are beautiful masks, but they only take you so far - to a nice carnival or masquerade. True human spirit is beyond culture, that’s why my main interest is in human potential. Music is a way to explore that and you can see how it links up with the idea of pura vida. ‘Pura vida’ is pure life, ‘conspiracy’ is word play on the fact that most of the people in the world are so focused on everything going wrong that they fail to see the 50% that’s going right.”
Hutz founded Gogol Bordello in New York City in 1999, after leaving Ukraine in the aftermath of Chernobyl. In keeping with his vision of creating an international groove, he recruited musicians of all ages, races and cultures, including bassist Thomas Gobena, from Ethiopia, Russian violinist Sergey Ryabtsev from Moscow and percussionist Pedro Erazo-Segovia from Ecuador.
